Friday, December 19, 2014

Today's Teamster News 12.19.14

Teamster NewsTeamsters settles grievance with town over surveilance cameras in town hall Watertown Daily Times ...the language added to the contract though helps alleviate concerns that the cameras were being installed to monitor employees...Hamburg Ratifies Contract Sun News ...After about two and a half years, clerical staff in the Hamburg Central School District have a new contract, with a five-year collective bargaining agreement between the district and Teamsters Local 264 unanimously approved at the school board’s Dec. 9 meeting...Opposition to Carriage Horse Ban is Growing: Poll New York Observer ...Some 67 percent of residents polled in new Quinnipiac University poll released today said they do not believe Mayor Bill de Blasio should ban horse-drawn carriages, something he promised to do on “day one” of his administration. Just 22 percent of those polled supported the mayor’s plans to nix the industry...Backing The Wrong Horse City Journal ...In threatening to ban Central Park horse carriages, he is taking on a popular and well-connected industry and making enemies out of natural allies. The 300 or so carriage drivers, represented by Teamsters Local 553, enjoy the support of the Central Labor Council, representing 1.3 million workers in the five boroughs, as well as the left-wing Working Families Party...Security Workers At Indian Point Have 5-Year Contract Patch ...Entergy and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 456 have a new contract for the union’s approximately 186 members who work in security positions at the Indian Point Energy Center...Offset Paperback Won’t Eliminate 37 Jobs Citizens Voice ...Unionized employees are represented by the Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 137C...Hernando Commission Approves Proposed Contract With Employees Tampa Bay Times ...The county's roughly 430 bargaining unit members with Teamsters Local 79 will vote on the pact at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 5 in the jury assembly room at the Hernando County Government Center. Teamsters business agent John Sholtes is enthusiastically supportive of the proposed contract...TradeElizabeth Warren, other Democrats raise concerns about free-trade pact with Asia Washington Post ...Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday voiced new concerns over President Obama’s trade agenda as congressional Democrats ramp up efforts to slow the administration’s bid to finalize a major free-trade pact in Asia that the president has called a top priority..."NAFTA on Steroids" Trade Talks to Wrap Up The Free Press ..."This whole thing is an attempt to make sure that capitalism runs completely unabated by any legislator or regulator," said Jackson at the November meeting of Maine's Citizen Trade Policy Commission, a panel of state lawmakers and stakeholders who advise federal policy makers on trade policy. "The few elite will decide what's best for all of us, and it won't get debated. It'll get voted up or down, and that is not transparent government in any shape or form."...Latest secret TPPA leak reveals mass surveillance plans The Daily Blog ...a seemingly innocuous e-commerce chapter in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) could become a stalking horse for the NSA to get its hands on our personal data, as well as sweeping away privacy protections and controls on internet commerce...Democrats urge officials to leave out investor-state dispute provisions in major trade deals The Hill ...Several House and Senate Democrats are urging the Obama administration to leave out provisions in a two major trade deals they say could lead to changes in U.S. finanical regulations...State BattlesWisconsin Teamsters laying groundwork for right-to-work battle TeamsterNation ...Anti-worker politicians in Wisconsin are spoiling for a fight against working people in 2015, and Wisconsin Teamsters are ready to defend them if necessary...Foes of Unions Try Their Luck in County Laws New York Times ...Beginning here in the hometown of Senator Rand Paul and the Chevy Corvette, groups including the American Legislative Exchange Council, the Heritage Foundation and a newly formed nonprofit called Protect My Check are working together to influence local governments the same way they have influenced state legislatures, and anti-union ordinances are just the first step in the coordinated effort they envision...Indiana Supreme Court Dismisses ‘Right To Work’ Challenge Indianapolis Star ...The Indiana Supreme Court has dismissed a second challenge to the state’s “right to work” law. The state’s high court unanimously dismissed the case Tuesday — a move that was expected after justices upheld the law in a similar case last month...Why Did Wisconsin Club for Growth Send $750K to a Dark-Money Group in Missouri Last Year? Express Express ...I’ve always wondered why a Missouri-based attorney was mixed up in a case involving Wisconsin’s campaign finance laws. Is the Wisconsin Club for Growth’s money the link? And, if so, why?...EBay parts ways with controversial political group ALEC Reuters ...Ebay Inc said on Thursday that it will end its association with the American Legislative Exchange Council, a political group that other tech companies dropped earlier this year due to its views on climate change...Uber Strikes Deal With Portland to Suspend Service for Three Months Wall Street Journal ...Uber reached an agreement with Portland to suspend operations in the city for three months while regulators work to revise rules around taxis that currently prohibit ridesharing apps...After A Spate Of Bad Press For Uber, Some Turn Back To Traditional Taxicabs New York Daily News ...The renegade taxi service has been a worldwide punching bag all year — thanks to prices that become astronomical during peak times, a company official who suggested investigating reporters, drivers who have sexually harassed and allegedly raped customers, and claims of bizarre routes meant to jack up prices — and more and more New Yorkers are hitting delete...War on WorkersAmerica’s Wealth Gap Is Becoming a Wealth Chasm Slate …"The upper fifth of households by income, their typical wealth levels have indeed started to mend from the devastation of the Great Recession," says Richard Fry, a researcher at Pew and author on the report. "But for the bottom four-fifths of households, particularly the middle income households, they’ve made no gains."...Meet the Men and Women on the Hill Who Told Citigroup to Go to Hell Wall Street on Parade ...Citigroup received the largest taxpayer bailout in history during the financial crisis as a result of its unchecked derivatives: $45 billion in TARP funds; over $306 billion in asset guarantees; and more than $2 trillion in low-cost loans from the Fed according to the General Accountability Office. The abject repulsion that the very bank that got the biggest handout and played a pivotal role in collapsing the economy should now be gaming Congress to repeal financial protections drew a joint letter of protest from Republican Senator David Vitter of Louisiana and Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio...Sorry, Kevin Yoder: Your measure really is about helping the big banks (opinion) Kansas City Star ...Ever since he was named last week as the sponsor of a controversial measure rolling back a significant financial reform, U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder has been trying to have it both ways. The Republican from Kansas wants constituents to think his motives were all about helping out community banks and farmers. But the biggest beneficiaries are Wall Street banks, which already have rewarded Yoder handsomely and will continue to do so...20 States Raise Their Minimum Wages While the Federal Minimum Continues to Erode Economic Policy Institute ...these increases will provide workers with $2.5 billion in additional wages over the course of the year. This added pay represents a modest, but significant, boost to the spending power of the affected workers, many of whom have children and families to support...Oil Trains Hold Upper Hand As Pipeline Called Off Houston Chronicle ...The big increase in rail transport has raised safety concerns and pushed regulators to examine hazardous materials shipping standards in the face of high-profile accidents - including a July 6, 2013, derailment and explosion that killed 47 people in Lac-Megantic, Quebec...MiscellaneousBeach man saved by UPS worker dies in hospital surrounded by family WTKR ... Last week Marvin went into cardiac arrest while inside the Calvary Baptist Church in Virginia Beach. At that moment, UPS workers Sisha Perea and her husband Rob pulled up to deliver a package. Sisha gave Marvin CPR and saved his life...